Europe is more France than Germany right now

It is preliminary PMI day in Europe, meaning we are getting the
first read on growth across the European Union in August.

Germany missed growth forecasts due to weaker than expected
service sector growth, but still posted decent numbers overall.
France and the EU as a whole topped expectations thanks to better
than forecast service sector growth.

Here are the headline numbers from across the EU (anything above
50 signals growth in activity, while anything below means
contraction):

Composite: 53.3 — a slight beat against
an estimate of 53.2, which was July's reading.

Manufacturing: 51.8 — a miss compared to
a forecast of 52 and down from 52 in July.

Services: 53.1 — beating an estimate of
52.8 and an acceleration from July's 52.9.

Financial data company IHS Markit is behind the PMI figures and
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at IHS Markit,
says in a statement: "The August flash PMI indicates that the
eurozone remains on a steady growth path in the third quarter,
with no signs of the recovery being derailed by ‘Brexit’
uncertainty.

"The survey data are consistent with the region’s GDP growing at
a quarterly rate of 0.3% in the third quarter, or 1.2%
annualised, which is similar to that seen on average over the
first half of the year."

Germany: 'A note of caution'

Germany delivered a slightly disappointing set of numbers, with
service sector and overall economic growth both missing
forecasts.

Here are Germany's numbers:

Composite: 54.4 — a miss against the forecast
of 54.8 and down from a reading of 55.3 in July.

Manufacturing: 53.6 — beating estimate of 53.5
and against July's figure of 53.8.

Services: 53.3 — a big miss against a forecast
of 54.3 and well below July's 54.4 number.

Oliver Kolodseike, Economist at IHS Markit,
says in a statement: "Today’s survey results highlight that
the German economy is continuing its uninterrupted upward trend
in August. However, output, new orders, and employment all rose
at slightly weaker rates during the month, thereby signalling
that business conditions have become a bit more challenging since
the prior month.

"Moreover, a closer look at the underlying data reveals a note of
caution for service providers. Not only did business activity
rise at the slowest pace since May 2015, but confidence about the
12- month outlook dropped to a near two-year low."

France at 10-month high

France had pretty much the opposite experience to Germany, with a
rampant service sector helping overall economic growth beat
expectations. Here are the figures:

Composite: 51.6 — beating
forecasts of 50.5, the growth recorded in July.

Manufacturing: 48.5 — lower than estimates of
48.8 and down from July's figure of 48.6.

Services: 52 — a big beat on estimates of
50.5, which was July's reading.

That is a decent set of numbers from France. While manufacturing
is still in decline, the service sector is picking up the slack
and overall economic growth is outpacing estimates by a
significant margin. Overall, the private sector grew at its
fastest pace in 10 months.

Jack Kennedy, Senior Economist at IHS Markit,
says in a statement: "France’s private sector economy
gathered some momentum in August, raising hopes of a pick-up in
GDP growth after the stagnation seen in the second quarter.

"A stronger contribution from the service sector bolstered
overall output, while manufacturing held its ground to halt a
recent slide. That said, the trend in incoming new business
remains muted while firms indicated a return to job shedding in
the latest month, suggesting that the recovery remains stuck in
the slow lane."